Harmless flirtations or co-creation? Exploring flirtatious encounters in hospitable experiences

Abstract

Exploring the relationship between sexual harassment and service work in hospitality has long been considered a complex issue, due to the blurred and sometimes invisible line between flirting, harassment and the very nature of close contact hospitality service work. Little research has examined how mutual flirtations (when they are conducted in an appropriate manner and within safe boundaries) between customer and staff can play a positive role in the co-creation of hospitable experiences. This paper presents the findings of one theme from a wider PhD study which sought to explore the role of staff, customers and managers in the co-creation and performance of natural hospitable experiences. The focus of this paper is an exploration of the relationship between flirtatious encounters and the co-creation of hospitable experiences. In the wider study, three research phases were conducted. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with service staff and managers from a range of hospitality servicescapes and data was gathered from customers through a number of focus groups, and the findings suggest that harmless and appropriate flirtatious encounters between customers and staff which are initiated in a natural and safe manner can have a positive influence on the co-creation of hospitable experiences.

‘He is the customer, I will say yes’: Notions of power, precarity and consent to sexual harassment by customers in the gay tourism industry

“…Similar to the work of Gibbs et al. (2021), there was some evidence in our findings that some flirtatious behavior between customer and staff could co‐create a potentially mutually rewarding hospitable experiences. However, there was equally significant evidence that the views between what constituted harmless flirtation and signals for sexual harassment would often differ between employees and customers, ultimately leading to often shocking harassing behavior from customers.…”

“…Indeed, a recent study by Gibbs et al. (2021: p. 473) explored the relationship between what they describe as the ‘blurred and sometimes invisible line’ between flirting and sexual harassment in hospitality. Thus, they highlight how ‘natural harmless flirtations between customer and staff can play a positive role in the co‐creation of hospitable experiences’ (p. 473).…”

Impact of International Tourists’ Co-creation Experience on Brand Trust, Brand Passion, and Brand Evangelism

“…Several scholars have examined the concept of co-creation in the tourism ( Hurriyati and Sofwan, 2015 ; Rachão et al, 2019 ; Mohammadi et al, 2020 ) and hospitality sectors ( Kallmuenzer et al, 2019 ; Gibbs et al, 2021 ), as co-creation complements tourism while providing tourists with the opportunity to participate in services. Ramaswamy and Ozcan (2018) posited that co-creation facilitates interactional creation across interactive system environments (afforded by interactive platforms), entailing agency engagements and structuring organizations.…”